It's a good thing she's so darn cute!

(i guess he's pretty cute, too)

Matt called me on Wednesday when he got home, and said, "What happened to Mae?" To which I replied, "I don't know what you're talking about." He proceeded to ask me if I had seen her or been home to let her out. We had piano lessons after school and I had been out since mid-morning, so I hadn't been home to let her out the past 3-4 hours... not too long for her to wait, but, I guess it's a different story when you're stomach is upset.

He said she was nasty and must have pooed in her crate and rolled in it. I figured that would be an obvious conclusion, if she was dirty and smelled bad also. Needless to say, I was SO excited to get home and walk into my kitchen, which should smell of yummy cinnamon bread like the way I had left it at 10:45 in the morning. Much to my chagrin, my house did not smell of yummy cinnamon bread, but, rather rotten, nasty poo poo smell. I wasn't sure if my Scentbug from Bath and Body Works could even touch this. Be assured, I was hopeful that pineapple orchid would soon overrule this stinch in my house.

Mae proceeded to look at me and jump around in her normal, "I'm so happy to see you", jolly, puppy way. It's a good thing, because she was indeed covered in dry liquid poo-- and she smelled like a dog who had jumped around and laid in liquid poo too. Matt took the old green truck (green beast-- affectionately named by me), Mae, and the three girls to the lake for a couple of rounds of shampoo and lolickling in the lake, while I had the joy of mopping my entire kitchen, wiping out the crate and quickly moving on to supper prep.

I guess it has made for a few laughs and for a funny story for sure. In some ways, it takes me back to the days of two in diapers and one in a pull-up at night. At least we're not in that stage anymore and the baby in our house can be taken out and hosed down or taken for a dip in the lake when she has poo poo issues.

In Full Swing...

Well, the break in any posts for a while is due mostly to the fact that all three of my girls are in school... all day! You would think that I could spend more time doing silly things like blogging, Facebooking, napping, etc... for a good chunk of the day... but life has really been a dance of sorts lately. As a dear friend said to me yesterday on the phone, "you're just not sure of your steps yet." This is quite true, actually. Many changes for our family lately, and this whole "all day" school thing (however, precious and so thankful for how they are being molded and nurtured daily) is a little bit of an adjustment for our two younger girls.

Ava was quite anxious to pray last night before dinner and the maturity in her prayer... Wow... these girls are growing up so quickly! She also led us in a song based on Psalm 23. The part where she sang "I shall not want for anything". Whoa-- what convicting words straight from scripture that I pray are being engraved on their little hearts.

Riley is also learning a verse a week and her verse last week was Proverbs 15:1-- "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger." Once again, words that I need to hide in my heart as well. She's changing daily it seems and growing up so quickly. She started piano with her Grandma last week and is so excited about this new venture for her.

Emma Grace is quickly approaching double digits in just two short weeks. Where in the world have these 10 years gone? She is approaching little lady-hood far too quickly. She is quite the help around here and wants to assist in most any way she can with her sisters and our animals. I'm so thankful for the bright spot she is in our lives!

I'm so sure the years fly by simply because it is a calling that consumes so beautifully our time and most of our energies. Even when the mama feels a little crazed over trying to creatively fix healthy lunch/snack options after dinner has been fixed and cleaned up and I've cleaned up puppy messes constantly-- as we try to successfully train Mae that "potty goes outside." (speaking of puppy messes-- story to come...)

Lord Jesus, help me to savor these days and bring you glory in such wonderful days. And, thank you that you keep reminding me of my need to be solely dependent on you!